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Saturday, January 15, 2011

‘Mammoth’ Sunflower (マンモスのひまわり)

We decided to grow a new variety of sunflower this year in our place after having so much fun with the Evening Sun sunflowers last summer. We chose ‘Mammoth’ because I imagine it will be a huge bloom, well not as huge as the mammoth during ice age of course but I got suck in when I heard the bloom can be a diameter of 30~40cm across. I also daydream of it seeds that look so edible and yummy to eat. I think it is edible with the size of it. Teringin nak makan kuaci organik sendiri.

Mammoth sunflower just popped out from the soil with its seed coat still attached. This is always a happy moment for any gardener I reckon.

Even though we have two variety growing at the same time, the Mammoth sunflower and Evening Sun sunflower seedlings can be differentiate at this stage. Tips> Mammoth~ bigger. LOL. The shade colour and shape is also slightly different.

Sunflower seedlings growing with Early Gem sweet corn in spring.

Mammoth sunflower just about to bloom.

Facing the sky and the morning sun. It does not like the afternoon sun here which is unbearably hot even for this sun loving flower.

Full bloom. Honestly, I was a bit dissapointed that it did not reached my expectation size which is 30~40 diameter across for the bloom size . But Mammoth sunflower did provide a bigger bloom than the Evening Sun sunflower and it is bigger than my face so i should not complain. Mammoth sunflower plant provide 0ne blooms per-plant.

Mammoth sunflower does have a cheery sunshine colour. It makes me smile when I look up at it . Because…..

AlamakLooking down at this patch makes me sad, looking at the before growing so healthy sweet corn has been sun-burned so badly. What bad timing too when the cobs were producing. The picture taken after I clipped all the burned crisp leaves because it make me more sad to look at them in that state. I can see some silk on the cobs but I know the pollination was not successful. Yet I cannot seem to let my hand move to cleared it up. Sigh~…

I am already eyeing the seeds. The mammoth seeds that I bought did not have good germination. I had to cautiously used it because I think only about 30% of them germinate from the amount that I sowed. With this big bloom I think I can collect at least a hundred from it if I successfully collect them. Patience….

Head dropping too heavy I reckon .

I think the mammoth sunflower does not grow well in our summer here. I am planning to try growing it at the end of summer which will be End of March or Early April just to see how big this plant can actually grow.

Any suggestion on what fun variety of sunflower to grow next?

This weekend I am planning to collect seeds from the evening sun sunflower if its not drizzling.

I have admired sunflowers in my neighbor's gardens and at the summer farmer's market, but have not grown them myself, so I can not recommend another variety to you. I just love the happy look of sunflowers- its like they are smiling their hearts out. Your picture of the sunflower in full bloom is gorgeous! Enjoy the weekend.

I have a different variety. It has multiple flower heads. The ones on fertile ground can be quite huge though they are not very tall. So far, I haven't seen any seeds yet. Wonder how long I need to wait. Some of the older ones are already being chewed away and I still haven't seen any seeds.

Bangchik ~ You will have many things to sow after the monsoon season is over at your side of the coast.

Rainfield61~ The sunflower will continue blooming until its old. At night I have to use the torchlight to see it whenever I came back from school very late which is often these days:).

Sue ~ We pampered the birds with so much sunflower seeds last summer when we were harvesting them. We also gave some to my neighbour who likes to wake up early in the morning to make sure her birdbath has enough water for the bird to cool down from the summer heat.

Fer~ I hope my trial growing them in autumn will provide bigger blooms.

Mr. H ~ The sunflower does make the garden look so much cheerful when other plants are greatly affected by the heat. My conclusion that Early Gem sweet corn variety will grow better in cooler condition. We grow Golden Bantam last year and it was more heat tolerant than this new variety we tried.

Mom of M&Ms~ I hope it bring a happy smile to your daughter face.

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden~ Ah yes they do don't they smile their heart out and it is very infectious.

Kak Shidah~ I hope I have success collecting the seeds than I can share my kuaci organik ;-).

Kwee Peng~ The seeds are at the centre of the bloom. It is hiding behind the nectars used to be. The seeds will be ready if you just gently brush the centre head and it easy to come off ( refer to my second last photo)the pollen or nectar where the seeds are. In this case, the sunflower seeds are not ready still immature it is white and you can see like small flower on top of the seeds from my photo. The sunflower mammoth seed is easier to see and the evening sun sunflower is rather shy a bit obscure maybe like the one you are growing. Try to rub on the centre gently and see wether it drop off easily or not. The seeds is hiding back there.

Milka~ I am craving for kuaci organik hehehe....Your daughter will like the mammoth it is always fun for kids.

Oh I have serious sunflower envy. The first time I planted sunflowers a few years ago, we had more sun and managed to get some beautiful ones. This year, we have too many surrounding trees outside our apartment block, so my two sunflowers that finally grew were very stunted! (about 1m tall only, so sad). All the other seeds either got eaten by ants or didn't sprout. Never mind, I'll just admire your amazingly stunning flowers instead :) Hope you get your kuaci!

Dear Diana,You really are the champion sunflower queen! Congratulations on the success of your plants. I've only managed to grow some medium-sized ones last year, but the grasshoppers loved them too much.Thanks for the note on your post to let your readers know about my Malaysian Garden Bloggers' Corner. That's very sweet of you.Rosie

They look beautiful! I am a big fan of mammoth sunflowers and they are the only sunflowers that I have grown. This spring I am going to sow seeds at different times. So, I will continually have some blooms a little longer in my garden. I wish they did last longer! Pretty post!

We have started gardening for about 4 years now since I had my first pregnancy scan with Rayyan and he was diagnose with cardiac defect.We want our children to know where veggies come from and eat vegetable which is chemical free. Furthermore taste the true flavour of heirloom vegetables and fruits. Our gardening adventure started in Adelaide (blog archive 2010-2012) with Mediterranean / Warm Temperate Climate. Now we grow our own food in Tropical Climate in a green zone 20 less kilometre away from the Malaysia capital city Kuala Lumpur.